Several leading industry groups have submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging the agency to exclude dietary supplements and their ingredients from any actions that may result from the Department’s Section 232 national security investigation of pharmaceutical imports. As the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) explained, the U.S. Department of Commerce Industry and Security Bureau, pursuant to an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, can investigate how imports of covered commodities impact national security and issue a recommendation to the President. The President then may enact a range of import controls, including additional duties, quotas, embargoes, or the creation of license fee systems.
In April, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients. This includes "finished drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items." Comments were requested, and leading industry groups—including AHPA, CHPA, NPA, and UNPA—made their case for supplements, plus shared their perspectives on potential impacts on the industry and consumers.
AHPA's submitted comments note that ingredients in Annex II, such as vitamins and amino acids, play a vital role in the formulation of many dietary supplements, alongside uses in pharmaceutical, animal feed, conventional food and personal care product settings. AHPA is discouraging any recommendation of Section 232 controls for these commodities, and instead encouraging "the consideration of alternate, positive incentives for a diverse supply chain, such as direct federal support for domestic production." AHPA reported its general position of opposition to wide-reaching country-scale tariffs, and said it will continue to advocate for the relaxation and removal of these regimes where they affect the dietary supplement and herbal products communities.
In its comments, the Natural Products Association (NPA) explained: "We are committed to partnering with you to strengthen domestic manufacturing while ensuring affordable access to supplements critical to Making America Healthy Again (MAHA). To this end, we urge the continued and expanded exemption of dietary supplement ingredients from Section 232 tariffs. Americans are overfed but undernourished. Considering that more than half the calories Americans consume come from nutrient-depleted, ultra-processed foods, including refined sugars and industrial seed oils, it comes as no surprise that so many people are undernourished. Tariffs on nutrients and dietary ingredients would only be encouraging more calories with less nutrition...Unlike pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements are regulated as food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). They play no role in manufacturing or distributing finished drug products, medical countermeasures, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), or related derivatives, which are the focus of Section 232’s national security inquiry. Supplements are subject to mandatory recalls for safety concerns, ensuring robust oversight without implicating the strategic risks associated with pharmaceuticals.Excluding our industry from this inquiry aligns with the FFDCA’s framework and the Department’s intent to address pharmaceutical supply chain vulnerabilities."
Comments from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) reminded federal officials: “Dietary supplements are not pharmaceuticals. The submission outlined how supplements and their ingredients—though they may share some Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes with pharmaceutical products—serve a vastly different purpose and operate in a distinct marketplace. CRN respectfully urges the Department to protect the U.S. dietary supplement industry’s role in supporting the health, jobs, and economy for Americans...CRN recommends the Department recognize the differences between pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements and expressly exclude dietary supplements and their ingredients from this Section 232 investigation.”
Impact of the dietary supplement industry
CRN pointed out that:
- The dietary supplement industry supports more than 616,000 American jobs;
- The industry generates nearly $158 billion in total economic output annually;
- The industry provides significant tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments;
- Approximately 75% of American adults use supplements to support their health and wellness.
- Supplements deliver cost savings to the U.S. healthcare system. CRN’s Supplements to Savings analysis showed that regimens such as calcium and vitamin D for bone health and probiotics for digestive support can prevent costly health conditions, generating billions in potential healthcare savings.
In addition, CRN noted, the vast majority of finished dietary supplements consumed in the U.S. are manufactured, packaged, and labeled domestically, even though the ingredients (vitamins, minerals, botanicals, amino acids, and others) are often sourced globally due to practical limitations in domestic production. The association encouraged the Department to adopt a nuanced approach to trade policy that takes into account the realities of global supply chains and distinguishes between ingredients with robust U.S. manufacturing capacity and the many that depend on international sourcing.
Unintended consequences
NPA explained that if key ingredients used in dietary supplements lose their exemption status from Section 232 tariffs, that could mean higher costs for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. NPA encouraged industry members to reach out to their elected officials to keep supplement ingredients on the tariff exemption list by visiting NPA's Grassroots Page (see NPA's page for other calls to action as well).
CRN cautioned that sector-specific tariffs aimed at pharmaceuticals but inadvertently applied to supplements could lead to severe unintended consequences, including supply chain disruptions, increased risks of adulteration, product shortages, increased costs to consumers, and the offshoring of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
“Consumers depend on affordable, high-quality supplements to maintain their health, and U.S. manufacturers depend on stable ingredient supply chains to deliver those products,” said Steve Mister, CRN President and CEO. “Tariffs designed to protect national security should not limit access to dietary supplements, thereby endangering American jobs and public health.”
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) also submitted comments. Reflecting on the impacts, CHPA President & CEO Scott Melville said: “Consumer healthcare products, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and devices and dietary supplements, play a vital role in helping Americans manage their health affordably and independently, while easing pressure on the broader healthcare system. These products deliver proven value—every $1 spent on OTC medicines saves over $7 in healthcare costs, totaling $167 billion in annual savings through avoided doctor visits and lower-cost treatment options. While building greater domestic manufacturing capacity is clearly a shared goal, and we’re pleased to see the Administration recently underscore the need to give industry time to transition, it cannot happen overnight. Our industry depends on a global supply chain for key ingredients and components, and levying tariffs will undoubtedly increase the risk of out-of-stock shelves, price inflation, and counterfeit or substandard products being introduced into the U.S. market. Many of CHPA’s Manufacturer members are investing in expanded U.S. production, but regulatory, infrastructure, and supply chain complexities can take at least 5-7 years. Given the widespread use of these products, and the fact that a significant majority of them are finished in North America, it’s essential that any tariff actions be phased, flexible, proportional, and targeted to clearly defined national security risks rather than a broad application."
AHPA's stance: “This is all stick and no carrot for commodities that require tremendous infrastructure to be viably produced anywhere,” said Robert Marriott, AHPA Director of Regulatory Affairs. “Positive incentives, not tariffs, are the best and only path to domestic, scaled manufacturing.”
